According to the World Health Organization, diabetes is the most frequent cause of blindness in the western population in the productive and labor age.
This instance estimates that after 15 years of suffering from this disease, 2% of the population runs the risk of being blind.Meanwhile, 10% can present a severe visual disability.Although the reason may be due to different clinical complications such as: diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment or diabetic macular edema (EMD), the latter cause of vision loss is the latter.
Dr. Gema Ramírez, specialist in retina, vitreous and tumors of the center of ophthalmological surgery in Caracas, explains that the EMD is a pathology of the eye originated by the accumulation of liquid in the most sensitive area of the retina called macula, responsible forThe central vision, reading and focus of details and colors.
The EMD originates from poorly controlled diabetes, because high levels of glycemia (sugar) in the blood promote the loss of vascular permeability.That is, they cause accumulation in the blood vessels of fluids, red blood cells and cholesterol particles that escape to the tissues of the eye.
“The background exam is the way to make the patient's damage.Every type 1 diabetic should be done a maximum background exam at 5 years of the diagnosis and if it is better better, and in type 2 diabetes, the examination of diagnosis should be performed immediately, since 3rd.Transversal of the Ruices are not known how many months or years the patient has been with the disease without knowing it, ”says Ramírez.
According to the specialist, an excellent control of blood glycemia levels is the only way in which the appearance of an EMD can be prevented.
"A valuable indicator is the measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin, which must be maintained below 7.0 mgr %," he adds.However, it warns that in case of renal alteration and high blood pressure, these health complications must be treated and controlled.
As for treatment, the doctor recommends the laser at the ocular level, in addition to systemic control.He also explains that with the arrival of antiangiogenics “within which is the Ranibizumab, the results of treatment in macular edema have significantly improved.This drug is also used to treat macular degeneration associated with age and in diabetic retinopathy vessels, ”he says.
To conclude, the specialist remembers that diabetes is a chronic disease, whose control must be for life to maintain vision and avoid the rest of complications in other organs."Bringing a healthy life gives us health."
